Sacked Mnangagwa 'Holds The Light To A New And Prosperous Zimbabwe'

Mutsvangwa said that he had no ambitions of starting a new party, or forming a coalition government as he was just part of a pressure group.

President Robert Mugabe listens to his wife Grace Mugabe at a rally of his ruling ZANU-PF party in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 8, 2017.REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The faction-riddled war veterans head Chris Mutsvangwa has called on the diaspora to help restore legitimacy and democracy in Zimbabwe following the sacking of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa from his post on Monday.

Mutsvangwa was speaking during a press briefing in Sandton on Wednesday.

"[President Robert] Mugabe is not the owner of the party, he was not chosen to be the leader of the party by Zanu-PF - he was chosen by the war veterans. Another leader was jettisoned by the war veterans in 1995 - we are evoking the same precedent," he said.

Mutsvangwa said that he had no ambitions of starting a new party, or forming a coalition government as he was just part of a pressure group. He said as a war veteran, he did not believe in coups.

Philimon Bulawayo / Reuters
REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

He said that they were looking to countries in the diaspora, South Africa in particular as the regional power, to help them arrest the situation in Zimbabwe.

Mutsvangwa said that the war veterans appealing even to whites - who were dispossessed and kicked out of Zimbabwe - to "re-engage".

"We didn't fight a racial war, we fought against injustice. We are appealing to them [whites] to come back," Mutsvangwa said. "We are all united as Zimbabweans and we are coming across the board, the MDC [Movement for Democratic Change], the churches, everyone has come together to address the menace that Zimbabwe now faces with Mugabe a senior old man with a mad wife.

"We want to make it impossible for the current government to function - we have done it before, we did it in the 1970s," he said.

Axed vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday released a statement saying that he had fled Zimbabwe after he was fired on Monday, and would return to the country to lead party members.

Mutsvangwa - who is a good ally of the former vice president - said that Mnangagwa was safe and would be travelling to South Africa "soon".

Philimon Bulawayo / Reuters
REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

Mutsvanga said Mugabe was trying to steal a party and going against the will of the people. He said that Zimbabweans back home felt that Mnangagwa was the "one who holds the light to a new and prosperous Zimbabwe".

It is widely believed that Mnangagwa was removed from his position in order to make way for Mugabe's wife, Grace, to take over as vice president.

"They want to seize power ahead of the elections, ahead of the will of the people, that's why we are appealing to our friends in the region," Mutsvangwa said.